Day 5 - Marrakech - Ait Benhaddou - Ouarzazate

10 July

Spluttering and hacking away in the van, I tried to sleep as much as possible and quietly hoped that I would not give my cold to the entire group. Further down the van, a few stomachs turned as we ascended on winding roads into the beautiful High Atlas mountains. Our destination was the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou - setting for movies such as Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. After a local lunch we crossed the river and mountain-goated up the kasbah, an incredible structure but a little difficult to fully appreciate while simultaneously trying to cough up a lung.

After our trip to Ait Ben Haddou we drove a short distance further to our hotel in the town of Ouarzazate. We drove past two enormous film studios - seemingly Ouarzazate is the Moroccan and perhaps even the African capital of film-making, well certainly for any films requiring deserty, Araby-looking stuff! After a swim in the pool and quiet dinner with the group, I dodged the highway of ants encircling the bed and fell into a deep, mucous-filled sleep.